The present invention is related to a vehicle remote controller, and more particularly, to a remote controller having a portable device carried by a driver and a transceiver, which is arranged in the vehicle, to output a request signal for intercommunicating with the portable device and to output a transponder driving radio wave.
Conventionally, cars require not only improvement in basic performance and safety but also improvement in maneuverability. Therefore, for example, a remote controller for a vehicle that remotely controls various devices arranged in the vehicle has been proposed. As an example of a vehicle remote controller, a smart ignition device has been proposed.
The smart ignition device has a portable device carried by a driver and a transceiver arranged in the vehicle. When the driver enters the vehicle, an ID code set in the portable device, which is carried by the driver, is automatically compared to an ID code set in the transceiver, which is arranged in the vehicle. When the two ID codes match, the engine is allowed to start. Therefore, the smart ignition device causes burdensome manipulations, such as inserting a mechanical key into a key switch and rotating the key to start the engine, to become unnecessary and improves maneuverability of the vehicle. Moreover, the comparison of the ID codes improves the security level.
The smart ignition device normally does not function when the battery of the portable device goes dead. Therefore, when the battery of the portable device goes dead, a mechanical key attached to the portable device must be used. However, the security level cannot be improved if the engine can be start by the mechanical key.
Therefore, in the prior art, a transponder control section is arranged in the mechanical key and an antenna for outputting a transponder driving radio wave is arranged in a predetermined area in the vehicle including a key switch. When the transponder control section receives the transponder driving radio wave, the transponder control section is activated by the electromotive force induced by a received radio wave to generate a transponder signal including a predetermined transponder code. The transponder signal is transmitted to the transceiver.
A predetermined transponder code is preset in the transceiver. When the transceiver receives the transponder signal, the transponder codes are compared. When the two transponder codes match, the transceiver permits the engine to be started by the mechanical key. This improves the security level even when the engine is started by the mechanical key.
In the conventional smart ignition device, the request signal is output in a wide area of the vehicle. Thus, the antenna for outputting the request signal is arranged near the center of the vehicle. The antenna for outputting the transponder driving radio wave is arranged near the key switch to ensure that the transponder driving radio wave is output within a narrow area including the key switch. Therefore, the number of parts and the cost of the smart ignition device are increased by the two antennas, and the necessity for separately arranging the two antennas decreases working efficiency.